Just Checking
by Angel-Chan
Summary: YoNa It's late; a storm is raging outside. Fear has plunged into the heart and soul of one... making them think that the impossible has happened-- that their love... is no longer with them.


_Just Checking_  


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Pellets of pearl-like water pelted down, ripping apart the earthy ground below. Long, slithering worms struggled with all their might to escape from the underground chambers; death would come either way, but instinct screamed like a newborn babe-- drowning seemed far worse. The sky lit up as a jagged bolt danced about in the distance. Dangerous was this storm, yet none truly feared it. A clash of thunder; it attempted to send terror through the hearts of all in its wake. 

...she was alone. 

Pain entered her body through an unidentifiable hole; raging and burning within her like a fire yet to be extinguished, the searing ache intended to drive her mad. However... she was not without her pride. 

The ache-- the pang tugging at the very strings of her heart-- sprouted confusion. What was this feeling? This unexplainable sensation that shrieked with anguish and sorrow.... Only one other time had she felt such an emotion, but.... Did something... happen? She knew not, for some odd reason, and feared that all was not well. 

...fear? Opening her stern, normally concentrated eyes, a sense of overwhelming vulnerability engulfed her. Alien was the place in which she currently resided.... Where was she? This place.... Memories slowly opened their doors, and her fleeting senses returned. Oh, yes... it was her room. 

Plain. Simple. ..._boring_. 

Cloth rustled with a slight, hurried movement. The girl rose slowly, stringy hair spilling over her tired, worn face. The mere placid look-- the mask she more oft than not wore-- instantly claimed her; the sleep that had reigned faded, replaced by her 'normal' mood. Some would say that she was a rather callous person by nature. Strict... cold-- sometimes brutally abusive. 

A reputation. It was part of her, as she was part of the very world in which she walked and roamed. If ever were she to act differently... well, I suppose that she would _never_ act in any other way. 

And yet... fright had taken grasp of her dignified soul. Clammy was its clawed fingers; terror cackled fiercely as it tightened its grasp... squeezing... suffocating. 

What had awakened this... fear? Her eyes shifted to the wall. Outside, a high-pitched howling could be heard; the storm raged on. No... it wasn't the storm. Many a time had she fallen asleep with the sounds of thunder and wind beating against her ears. 

Then... what? 

Black, bottomless orbs trailed out once more, as if searching... for something. The deep pools-- the orbs that held her soul-- locked onto a seemingly foreign object. A gasp; her whole body convulsed weakly. The object grinned slyly, taunting her with its very presence. Why...? Small, slender hands reached out shakily, wrapping their thin fingers around said intruder. A quick-paced, heavy _thump_ echoed through her ears; breathing was at a loss to her. Why... did she have...? 

"Yoh's... headphones?" 

Fright rocketed down, slamming into the pit of her stomach; she reeled forward slightly. A weak, withered whine cried out from her throat... suppressed merely by her evanescent pride. Eyes widened, she glared at the orange ear pieces in hopes of an answer. 

Sadly, her gaze did nothing to one with no soul.... 

How did she come to have these...? For some reason, the details of the day before escaped her.... It was as if... her memories of the past month had been erased. A shy sense of knowing knocked at her heart; she ignored it, forcing her brain to come up with a suitable solution. 

Not often would she steal the headphones from their beloved owner; Bob Love was... well, not her _favorite_ person in the world. Curves appeared on her face: a weak smile. Her fiancee had... a rather strange taste in music. As quick as it had come... the grin mutated into a stubborn frown. 

Rattling her mind did no good-- it was as though she were not meant to remember.... 

A face.... 

Short, messy brown hair... flung wildly about that very face.... 

Cold... so _cold_. 

And... stiff. 

...dead. 

A barren desert could not compare to the dryness of her eyes at that moment. Tears refused to come... even when envisioning that horrid memory. 

"That...," rasped she, bile building up deep within her. Taking in a deep gasp of air, the girl shook her head fervently. He... he couldn't be...! Hadn't he...? Yes, he'd-- 

...what? 

What had happened after that...? The only thing she could remember... was her final farewell to him-- right before aiding in the attack against his satanic twin. A... farewell? Then... perhaps, it was true...? A pang of sheer anxiety pinched at her heart; she clutched the headphones close to her chest. 

Sobs.... Were they hers...? Clear droplets spilled down her smooth, pale cheeks... each one bawling and crying for their maker. ...why couldn't she remember? WHY?! Shouldn't she recall a funeral... nights of loneliness... and empty, foreboding house...? 

The tears halted; a barrier seemed to push them away-- although... it wasn't strong enough to hold them back forever. Movement: she wavered to her feet, her fiancee's cherished object still held tightly in her arms. Nothing made sense.... Her mind was... was.... 

Where... was she going? 

The itako's glazed eyes lingered on the foreboding door... as if something were pulling her toward it.... Was she merely hallucinating... or had the truth become too painful for her to bear? She tried to convince herself that her fret was uncalled for-- that the answer would be discovered once the sun rose to light up the world... but she was too head strong. It didn't matter what time it was... she needed to know-- she _had_ to know. 

The house creaked eerily as the wind whipped against it. A moan echoed out from the floorboards; she took a small, unsteady step forward. Should she...? Longing for the answer to her worries, she quickened her wavering pace... and shuffled to her door. 

_Shhhk...._

Darkness loomed over her tiny body. Weak rumbles filled her ears, informing her of the storm's meager existence. The girl plunged into the swirling shadows... more afraid of what rested at the end of her path than the blackness itself. Still... a sense of unknowing pervaded the wooden hall. The floor was cold-- like herself.... 

Always was she cold.... A frozen, mirror-like icicle that appeared to be unbreakable... but could be shattered by even the simplest of touches. ...his warm smile was all it took to send her iron walls tumbling to the musty floor below. He... he was her weakness-- her Achilles heel. And yet... as she stood outside his room, realization came up and chortled madly in her face. If... it he really was... then she would never again.... 

The door slid open forcefully. 

Outside, thunder ripped through the sky as though it were paper; lightening struck. The small, secluded room-- the whole house-- lit up for a split second. That small moment... that quick glance it gave her was all it took. 

...she fell to her knees. 

There, in the center of the room... amongst the scattered clothing and records and books... slept the one she held so dear. Said boy let out a soft breath of air before listlessly rolling onto his back... unaware of the storm. 

Unaware... of _her_. 

Was it... a dream? The girl jammed her eyes shut, unbelieving. It... it _had_ to be! That incredulous sinking feeling... it pulled and tugged at the frail strings of her heart; it let out an anguished cry as the strings strained... breaking, snapping. A trick... one made of the mind and eyes...! They toyed with her emotions and tempted her to go insane. Yes-- that's what it was! She crawled over to his side... breath held in her dry throat. He... wasn't real. He... he _couldn't _be real...! 

Eyes closed in gentle slumber, the boy seemed so... so _peaceful._ Was that how he was to remain...? Asleep to the eyes of all who could bear witness to him? The girl clenched a fist over her chest; sweat ran down her back. He... he had to wake up-- wake up and end her pain...! She reached one trembling hand out, hoping to act on her assumption... but stopped, hovering it right above his cheek. Fear.... What would happen... if she were to touch him? Would he disappear...? Fade away? 

The ongoing battle against the salty droplets ended at long last; once more did they flow steadily down her pale, flushed face. No... she didn't want to lose him-- even if it was just a trick! The dream... it couldn't end. Not yet.... 

A lone tear, in a death defying attempt to escape the trail the others had made, leapt out... embracing the air with joyous delight. Only when it splashed against the sleeping lad's forehead did it feel as though its job had been completed. He groaned; deep, charcoal eyes opened groggily, sleep still laden within their cores. The scene before him played through his mind again and again; it seemed to confuse him for a second-- the fact that his fiancee was crying so openly beside him. His eyes snapped open completely, allowing the emotions needed to surface. Mouth parted slightly, the boy managed to whisper out a weak, "A-Anna...?" 

She froze. Talking...? But... why? Why did the dream have to talk...? Was it just another part of the trick? Allowing a sad smile to tug at her lips, she withdrew her hand... as though she would be burnt if she touched him. Nervousness bore a hole into her; the girl numbly fingered the headphones she had so easily forgotten merely moments before. Not real... none of it was real. "I...," she rasped, "wish I could touch you...." 

Thunder broke the prolonged silence; the boy brought himself up into a sitting position. What was going on...? Her whole body shook uncontrollably as he turned to study her. Nothing seemed right.... He wasn't real.... She nodded to herself, shifting her gaze elsewhere so as not to feel the full blow his stare. Wasn't he... _dead_? Why...? Why did it seem as though he were alive...? 

"Anna...," he murmured again, fully awake this time. "What's--" a sheepish grin somehow found its way onto his kind face "--wrong...? Why... why _can't_ you touch me?" 

Blond tufts of hair fell over her pitiful, tear-stained face-- over her red, puffy eyes... as she shook her head in shame. She couldn't believe it.... A dream... a dream, and nothing more! And yet.... "You're not... you're not real." Why did this make her so weak...? When she could finally face the figment that caused her heart to ache... she would be free. Once again would she be strong... if she could just face her fear.... Lips trembling, Anna lifted her head in order to unleash a piercing glare toward the image created by her evil mind... but anger had all but deserted her. The emotions and the tears held back her heated gaze; she was not used to feeling much of anything... let alone what she was experiencing at that moment. Voice cracking, she repeated, "You're not real...." 

His gentle smile remained as he closed his eyes knowingly. A... smile? How could one smile...? Especially one such as he... who was nothing more than a dream-- a trick. Why... why would it not fade? Did it want to torture her _that_ much...? Suddenly... the girl caught a glimpse of his calloused hand-- worn from all of her 'special training'-- as it reached out... toward her. 

...why...? 

Terror invaded her soul as he closed in. Confusion followed soon after. If one who was not real attempted to touch her... what would happen...? Would the dream fade... or would she? Why would he _want _to touch her...? It... it didn't matter, did it? Something, deep within her, knew that she... she _wanted_ him to touch her.... Life was damned, she realized. For her, for him... for _everyone_. 

Within that instant-- with his hand barely millimeters away from her cheek... time seemed to slow to a halt. Her weary eyes locked onto his own; they were serious, for once, and seemed to beg for her to do... something. In an attempt to discover what it was he wanted her to know, she plunged into his soul. What... what, exactly, was he hoping to convey? Confusion reigned, as it had since she first awoke, and it left the girl with nothing. How she hated the inability of reading another's eyes and soul...! 

Something... _warm_ claimed her cheek... caressing and massaging with the kind of affection that many refused to express. She did not jump in fright... but merely allowed more crystal-like tears to come crashing down. As much as she longed for relief to run swiftly through her... it did not. She felt... lost-- aghast. Why could he... grasp her...? Anna-- cold, heartless Anna... leaned into his meek touch.... 

"Do I... do I feel real to you...?" His voice wavered with uncertainty. Of course it would... for he was not used to this kind of conduct. Never would she allow him to lay so much as a finger on her. However... now, it was different. Her mind, her body... both felt weak-- numb. The touch alone caused her so much agony.... She closed her deep black orbs; seeing as her mind was incapable of answering... her heart spoke the one fact tormenting her very soul: 

"_Nothing_ feels real anymore...." 

Another hand delicately took hold of the other side of her face; the itako felt her whole body grow weak... and she wanted to collapse right then. Real...? Real.... What _was_ real, anyway? How could one tell if things were real when everything felt the same...? ...everything, that is... except his touch. Even as she questioned whether he was truly sitting there... cradling her head in such a loving way, his touch sent shocks of warmth down her spine. He had always been able to do that-- melt her cold shell. Who was to say... that just she wasn't just imagining the way his touch used to effect her...? 

She felt him pull her closer. Was he... trying to embrace her...? Did he really wish to? Such an idiot-- even a mirage like he should have known better... than to hold her. And yet... she found herself allowing him to do so. Why...? Why didn't she snap her eyes open and pull away angrily? Seconds passed... and the girl took notice of the light, warm breaths of air brushing against her tear-stained cheeks; the wind made her face feel chilled, and she shivered weakly. What... what was wrong? The dream-- was it ending?! Why had he stopped...? If it was ending, then... then.... 

Shy, soft lips captivated her own quivering ones in a gentle kiss.... Anna flung her eyes open in shock; there he was... holding her as close as he could-- all while placing a tender, knowing kiss upon her lips...! ...why? Why would he want to...? The answer finally came to her, as clear as day: 

He wanted to prove... that he was real. 

The fear and confusion that had ransacked her brain fled, knowing that she was no longer vulnerable to their meager attempts. A new emotion took their place... filling her heart with a warmth that slowly surged throughout her entire body. That feeling... was love. Love for the boy who, strangely, annoyed her to no end at times... who often slacked off... and yet always tried to make her happy. 

With that one, silly emotion pounding deep within her chest, the girl found herself wanting to be closer. Arms reached out... and gently wrapped themselves around Yoh's neck; her body shifted, leaning into his embrace as though she'd die if he were to let go. Although sleep was patiently knocking, hoping that she would succumb to it soon... she ignored it. For the first time in her life, she felt loved. Well, something had always told her that she loved him, and that same little voice also informed her of his unspoken feelings. 

But they were just that-- _unspoken_. 

Anna returned his kiss meekly, unsure of what to do... but enjoying the moment nonetheless. Although experience was lacking, it was their first kiss-- the first time either of them had ever dared to express their feelings for one another.... It was special-- important. As the seconds ticked past... that small kiss seemed to last an eternity. 

Anna smirked against the boy's smooth lips; a thought had just crossed her dazed mind. Yoh had been the one to initiate the kiss...! Laughter begged to be released, but she calmly suppressed it. He had taken control. Usually, she was the dominant one... while he cowered beneath her. This time, however.... Perhaps she was rubbing off on him? 

His arms wrapped around her small frame tightly-- not too tight, though-- as if signaling her to come closer. Peeking out with one eye, the girl noticed that the sun had begun to awaken; the storm had faded away... like a distant memory. Everything becomes a memory sooner or later; that, in turn, becomes the past-- history. For now, at least, she wanted to savor the moment... and make it last as long as possible. She obliged to his little request; his lap instantly became her cushion. A chuckle brushed against her lips as her fiancee noted where she now sat. Such an idiot.... And yet... she couldn't help but realize: 

None of that would have happened... had she not gone to check on him.

A/N: My first Shaman King story!!! So... was it too OOC? Anna seemed... slightly off-- but that's my own opinion. [chuckles] My sister loved it-- however, she enjoys a lot of what I type (she's very easy to please). It is YOU, the reviewer, who must feel happy with what has been written! Oh, and yes, it is based off the end of the anime (FINALLY! I have seen all 64 episodes!). So, please, be it questions, comments... flames [gulps] review!!! It's in the lower, left hand corner-- click and type something nice!! I'll... I'll give you cookies!!!--Angel-Chan 


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